


A Few Minor Ethical Tweaks on the Path to Utopia

by VelvetMace



Category: The Lathe of Heaven - Ursula K. Le Guin
Genre: Alternate Realities, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Bondage, Chastity Device, Corporal Punishment, Hypnosis, M/M, Omorashi, Porn With Plot, Possessiveness, Rape, Sex Toys, Slavery
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-14
Updated: 2015-03-14
Packaged: 2018-03-17 18:47:01
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 1
Words: 16,529
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3540125
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VelvetMace/pseuds/VelvetMace
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A dream makes Haber see Orr as something more than just a stepping stone to his eventual godhood.   Unfortunately this leads Orr to be subjected more intimately to Haber's grandiose appetites and insatiable need to control all he desires.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Few Minor Ethical Tweaks on the Path to Utopia

**Author's Note:**

> I threw the kitchen sink of kinks at this. Despite pretensions of plot, this is idfic through and through. Because apparently when I read a work about the philosophy of existence and the nature of utopia, I think: "Wow, effective dreams are a great way to justify the existence of psycho-therapeutic sex dungeons!"

Heather Lelache looked down at Orr lying on the cot and felt a sudden dark panic.Her mouth went dry.The power of all creation was within her grasp.  

“All your dreams will be … fleeting and shallow,” she stumbled, reaching for words.He trusted her. She’d better not fuck this up.“Normal.Except … except one.You will have one effective dream that … that Dr. Haber wants to be open with you about what he wants.He won’t hide things from you.” My god, when had it gotten so hard to put words together.She was a lawyer for craps sake. She swallowed.“He genuinely cares about you. You aren’t just a pawn or a … a tool for him.He knows you are real.And… and… He’ll be honest with himself about what… everything he wants from you.”Stop this.End this.But first one last impulsive wish:“—And also there are no aliens on the moon.Now sleep.” 

 She took a deep breath in, like one who had been drowning and finally reached the surface.Her heart stopped hammering in her chest and slowly sweat she hadn’t noticed dried on her brow.Time ticked by and nothing happened. Nothing changed and she felt relief that it hadn’t.Next to her, Orr lay relaxed and open, ordinary, like any other sleeping person. For the moment, any danger seemed unfathomably remote.

 

* * *

 

The call to Haber’s personal phone had come at 5 am.Orr wanted to come in and fix things. _Thank God!_ Haber had already been awake (who could sleep with an alien invasion going on) so he’d raced out to the deserted Institute to get things ready.  

He waited in the hall outside his office a good three quarters of an hour before Orr came running out of the elevator tugging, of all people, the HEW lawyer from last Friday along behind him.

Haber’s eyes snapped to the way their fingers meshed together:Orr’s long pale ones intertwined with Lelache’s darker, thinner ones.The intimacy of it set up red flags in Haber’s mind.Why was she here?What was going on between them?Had she contacted Orr or had Orr taken the initiative to hunt her down?

Either way Haber didn’t like it. Orr was delicate…handling him required a sensitive touch.Outside interference was intolerable.Who knew what nonsense she might be filling his head with.

But those thoughts were thrown aside as he opened the door and ushered them both inside, their legs going wobbly as a nearby explosion rocked the building. The outer office lay empty:chairs arranged along the wall in a rough semi-circle facing the receptionist’s desk.Ms. Crouch wouldn’t normally be in until 8 am.During this crisis, he didn’t expect her to be in at all. 

At the inner door, Haber hesitated, blocking the way of the two.“Ms. Lelache, if you would wait here,” he pointed to the chrome and leather seats set up in the outer office. His eyes glanced down again at their intertwined hands and his stomach soured even more. 

Orr looked down at his hand and seemed to notice for the first time that it was being held.“I’d — I’d like her in with us,” he said, hesitantly.

“I’m afraid it’s inappropriate.Unless she has an official reason to be in the therapy room with us, and the paperwork to back it up, I can’t allow it.Her presence will be a distraction for both of us, and I think you’ll agree that we haven’t the time for that now.”

Orr predictably gave in.His hand released hers. Lelache, to her credit, seemed to recognise her demeanor as unprofessional and pulled her arm to her side.Her face slid from a look of guilt and concern to a more neutral, closed expression. Backing down.Haber felt a thrill of triumph at having won the battle of wills.

Orr hesitated a little longer before letting himself be hustled past the door to Haber’s inner sanctum, looking back at Lelache as though still hoping that she would change her mind and follow.It had been Orr who had reached out to Lelache, Haber suddenly knew.It fit with the rebelliousness he’d been exhibiting of late.Missing sessions, perverting his commands, he’d probably sought her out to get a second opinion on his dreaming.It was no wonder the last few dreams had gone so wrong. Orr was sabotaging their efforts and somehow Lelache was inspiring it.  

Haber had to fight to get his face out of the deep glower.The floor swayed beneath his feet again and his ears hurt from the concussive force of noise.“Hurry, before we are killed,” he said to Orr.

Orr gave in and meekly headed in while Haber locked the door behind them. And then it was just them.  

The large, wall-sized window was filled with dancing light.Haber’s eyes were momentarily fascinated by the destruction. Downtown Portland was on fire, building after building consumed by orange and smoke. The Morrison bridge had fallen into the dark Willamette river and the Burnside bridge had lost a large chunk of North side, what was left narrowed to an impassible ribbon.Emergency vehicles were racing down the pre-dawn streets flashing their lights, vainly attempting to stem the destruction even as it was ongoing. _Holding back the sea._ Here came another volley of lights dropping like fat bioluminescent pearls from the sky.Moments later the rumble filled the office like thunder.

He turned around to see Orr looking down dumbly at the couch as if he didn’t know what it was for.Dawdling again.No time!

Haber stepped up behind him and caught him before he had a chance to flinch away.His fingers unerringly finding the right spots for V-C induction.He leaned in and began muttering the patter to initialize hypnosis in his ear, then caught Orr as he grew limp and lowered him onto the couch.  

For a moment, Haber enjoyed the sensation of his strength and power over Orr.Even amid all the terror and urgency, he still felt the glow of satisfaction from it.It made his nerves tingle pleasantly, and the warmth of Orr’s body against his was oddly soothing.It reminded him that he wasn’t alone in the center of the universe.

He put the thought out of his head. _No time!_ The aliens would reduce the place to rubble any minute.  

He flipped a switch and let his recorded voice take over putting Orr in a deeper hypnotic state while he put the trancap roughly on Orr’s head, fighting to get it into proper place as quickly as possible.He gave a glance at the EEG and was gratified to see that Orr wasn’t fighting the trance the way he had been lately.He wouldn’t need to break out the sodium pentathol.  

All it took, apparently, was armageddon to get Orr to lose that obstinate streak.If only this cooperation could be assured every time.

Inspiration struck.If it worked it would kill two birds with one dream.Orr was already ready to hear his instructions.Flipping off the recording, Haber spoke:

“Now George, I want you to have an effective dream.In this dream you will realize that you do not want to fight me any more.All your problems have come from fighting me.You will know that you can not run away from me or your problems.That I want what is what is best for you and that submitting to me is the best, sanest thing to do.Fighting me is dangerous and irrational.Nothing shall interfere with our relationship, not other people—” (Haber thought of Lelache, waiting in the outer office, why _was_ she there?She needed to be gone!) “ — Not the law.We are in this together, George, you and me, and nothing will come between us.You will dream that you accept our relationship, that you embrace it and welcome it, even enjoy it.

“And after you have dreamed that, you will dream that there are no aliens attacking the Earth.The aliens are gone, have never been, they were nothing but a fantasy.A fiction.Antwerp.” 

 Haber turned on the Augmenter.Immediately the lines on the EEG switched to the rhythmic jags of s-sleep.Outside an explosion boomed and a flash lit up the giant picture window.That was close!

Hurry, George, he thought.Hurry!

The EEG changed again. D-state.Yes.This was it. The dream.  

The office seemed to darken.Haber looked out the window to see the fires extinguished and the city seamlessly knitting itself together. There were changes — some warehouses across the rivers grew larger, while closer in the urban decay left over from the Crash melted into neat small parks.The growing light of dawn lit streets that were cleaner than they had been before the Alien attack. 

He turned back to Orr and saw that the changes weren’t just going on outside.Orr’s clothes rippled and changed as one reality overlapped and then took over for another.His shirt changed to a sheer and clinging light grey, moulding itself to the muscles of Orr’s chest and belly in an aesthetically pleasing way. His pants changed from typical office worker khakis to a loose sweat pants.His heavy, cloddish shoes vanished and his feet were bare.A pair of slip ons rested on the floor near the end of the couch.  

Most dramatically, he was now tied to the couch with medical restraints.

Haber took a step forward, oddly fascinated by this unexpected change, even as a second set of memories began to crowd in and take over.His eyes flashed from the restraints to Orr’s bare feet. They were like Orr’s hands;pale and boney, thin long toes, soft, free of bunions, corns and calluses.Orr, the eminently practical, was not the type to wear shoes that pinched or rubbed.  

Haber knew this because he’d held those feet often in his hands, exploring them, the way he had every other part of Orr.Now.

Before, in the other reality, the one that was dimming to memory even now, having an intimate physical relationship with a patient would have been unthinkable.Lelache would have been all over him.He’d have lost his license.Whatever attraction he may have had for Orr had been buried deep in his psyche lest he squander his entire career and become an object of derision and disgust.  

 But now… Haber’s mouth went wet.This world, the one growing realer by the moment, didn’t frown on psychiatrist/patient relationships.It recognized the intimacy involved in the act of healing and opened to include the sexual as well as the emotional and physical.In this world he hadn’t been forced to ignore that natural, understandable desire to claim an attractive object that was within his reach.The desire to quench one’s physical lust was just as reasonable an ambition as the desire for fame and fortune.

In the old world, Orr had been a source of frustration, a tantalizing thing just barely beyond his reach.Flighty at the best of times, downright sabotaging at the worst. 

 In this one, his grip was secure. There were no secrets, no barriers.Orr was his to explore and probe as he saw fit.To hold and pleasure and find pleasure in.

Haber’s breathing grew ragged as shock melted into excitement mixed with traces of shame.The latter was merely a relic of the old universe, lingering on past its time. It grew ever fleeting as the dream ended and the world settled fully into its new order.  

Anyway, Haber had never put much value on shame as an emotion.And prudery was even more pointless.A well rounded individual embraced and gloried in the pleasures of the body.Sex was good.It was healthy and social. It was aerobic.It fostered trust.Nothing like the rush of hormones that come from a good long orgasm when it came to reducing stress.There was no downside.

And when it came to sex partners, Orr did fit with his type.Smaller and younger than himself, submissive, meek.Even if Orr hadn’t been indentured to Haber, he’d have probably tried to convince him of the benefits of sexual therapy to go along with all the dream stuff.

Of course, Orr was indentured.Five years — the price for taking more than his legal allotment of drugs and using other people’s pharm cards. It didn’t matter to the courts that the drugs were non-narcotic and merely were an attempt to self-medicate his delusions.Illegal was illegal. 

Orr really was rather lucky that Haber regularly visited the labor houses (as an act of good works, he was far too important for that to be part of his job).He enjoyed helping to sort out the mentally ill from the anti-social.The latter were put to work helping to rebuild the economy by doing the exhausting, back breaking, and tedious jobs that no one else wanted to do.Miserable, but it wouldn’t have been much of deterrent to crime otherwise.The former, the mentally ill, were routinely sent to the psychcamp in Linnton, where they were used to study new medications and therapies.The wards were rather bleak, but the insane indentured found the lack of stimulation calming.They worked at small, drudge like tasks, but nothing too difficult or degrading.After all, being ill wasn’t their fault.

Orr had stood out immediately.He somehow seemed realer in Haber’s eyes than the rest of the miserable souls in the squalid, cramped dormitory.Orr was soft and vulnerable and oddly tough, tantalizingly sane and yet utterly delusional.His terror of dreaming was right up Haber’s alley.It had taken him less than fifteen minutes to decide to buy out Orr’s contract, and take him on as a personal research subject to help refine his Augmenter. 

Orr stirred in his sleep. Haber would have to wake him soon if he expected to get a clear report of his dream.

“George,” he said.“George, George.”

Orr woke with a start and attempted to sit up, as if he’d forgotten that he was kept restrained for these sessions. He glanced at each wrist in turn, lifting his head to see how the soft cuffs attached to the padded couch beneath him.He pulled hard, but the restraints were rated for three hundred pounds and Orr did not have psychotic strength.Giving up on his arms he tried to move his legs.His left leg had a similar restraint high around the ankle, the elasticized pant leg pulled midway up his shin to accommodate it.  

On the right ankle he had a more permanent restraint:one given to him by the courts as soon as they’d passed sentence on him.It was made of the hardest ceramic, tougher than steel though also considerably lighter.Embedded in it was a chip that kept track of his movements and set off alarms if he ever went out of the proscribed area.Haber had it set that Orr kept within 50 feet of himself, but he could have as easily set the limit to the confines of the building they were in or even the doorway of this room.

Orr was looking at him with eyes wide and horrified.“What did you have me dream?” he demanded, tugging at the restraints.For a moment he didn’t seem submissive at all.

Haber pursed his mouth.He’d thought he’d disciplined that tone out of Orr weeks ago.“Warning,” he said gently.“Calm down, George, or I’ll have to keep you restrained for longer than you like.”

Orr stared at him, but relaxed back onto the couch.“Please, Haber.I need you to be honest.What did you tell me to dream?”

Haber sighed.Orr was right.Trust came with honesty and really there was no need to keep the information from him, even if it was requested so rudely. “You were afraid of Aliens, George, remember?I had you dream that they weren’t real.And you do believe it now, don’t you.They aren’t real.”

Orr nodded, dazed.“They were from a show I used to watch when I was a kid.They were on the moon, then they came down and attacked the earth… then…Portland was on fire … and…”

“Then what?”Haber hadn’t watched the show.

“Then the Crash happened and there were no more shows. It didn’t really have an ending.”

Haber smiled warmly at Orr.“And was that all you dreamed?”

Orr nodded, but didn’t meet Haber’s eyes.Haber recognized that embarrassed, furtive look.It happened when Orr was trying to hide things from him — another habit Haber had hoped to stamp out by this point.“What else did you dream?”

Orr shook his head and tried to hide his face by turning as far away from Haber as his restraints would allow.

“I can’t release you until you tell me,” said Haber patiently.“I’m sure you’d like to visit a bathroom sometime soon.You usually do after a session.”

Orr glanced back and him and reddened bright as a beet, realizing (remembering) that the restraints Haber had on him didn’t stop at with his arms and legs.The loose pants hid a rather severe chastity sleeve that included a flexible tube to occlude urination as well as prevent erections.It was all part of Orr’s therapy.Giving in, entirely, to Haber’s control was necessary if he were to achieve the true submission needed to keep these dreams under control.

“Did you tell me to dream that I was your lover?”Orr asked.“That we had this bondage-sadomasochistic thing going. That I was a slave?”

“Indentured servant, George.And no,” said Haber with a feeling of satisfaction.“As a matter of fact, I didn’t.That was all you.Your irrational mind manipulating my words.”  

Orr looked flatly disbelieving, so to prove it, Haber played back the recording of his hypnosis.Orr listened, the flush draining from his face as prompt finished. Haber switched the tape off again before the trigger word sent Orr back down to sleep.

Orr seemed to digest the words, tugging absently at the cuffs holding his arms.After a minute, Haber prodded him again. “Your dream, George.I’ve been honest with you, it’s your turn to be honest with me.”

“Or you’ll discipline me,” he said with a bitter laugh.“My god, what have I done?”He took a deep breath.“I dreamt that I was naked, in some kind of … contraption.Bondage contraption.All straps and levers, pulleys, ratchets.It looked like some kind of torture device, but actually it wasn’t uncomfortable.I just couldn’t move anything.And I … I was horny.Close to coming, but I couldn’t do anything about it.You were there as well, but couldn’t see you, because of how I was positioned.Only hear you and … feel you when you touched me.And you were saying that you were doing this for my own good and that you were helping me and it was all part of some sex therapy.”

Haber mused, spreading his fingers across his bearded chin.“Yes, the frame is a rather intimidating piece of furniture, but I don’t like you thinking of it as a torture device.That’s not its purpose.It shouldn’t hurt you in any way, merely support you in the position most needed for our activities.”

Orr stared at him, like deer caught in the headlamps.He let out a horrified giggle.

Haber tutted. “There’s nothing shameful about having a sexual dream. Dreams are where the id comes to play, unrestrained by the superego.It’s only natural that your subconscious would leap from my suggestion that you trust and submit to me to a time when your trust and submission were at their greatest.I’m not embarrassed by your dream and you shouldn’t be either.”

Haber didn’t feel a shred of embarrassment. So what if this world were different from the old one, everything changed in dreams.It was a minor miracle that their relationship had continued without much variation for so long.And this was such a natural turn for it to have taken.They were fully in this project together — 24/7.Partners in every sense of the word.It only stood to reason that Orr would be more useful, helpful, in this world than he was in the old one, where there was … interference.

“Except that I’d never been in that frame before.We’ve never had sex, Dr. Haber.We’ve never even _thought_ about having sex.”Orr’s voice once more approached insubordination with its firmness.“Have me dream again.I can set it back.”

Haber shook his head, dismissively.“Once dreamed a thing can’t be undreamed, I think we’ve learned that by now.”

“Yes it can,” said Orr.“I put back the mountain in your office.I got rid of the aliens.”

“But not really — the aliens are still there, just as a tv show from your childhood.And the mountain was not the same mountain. There were changes.”

“Changes, yes,” said Orr.“But not this big.Dr. Haber, you’ve always wanted me to wish the world better.How is this better?Slavery is legal!”

“Indentured servitude,” Haber corrected, automatically.“And this world _is_ better.Look outside — if you can — the sun is coming up on a city that is clean and crime free.There are no homeless, drug addiction is down, we have green parks where there used to be graffiti and broken glass.We’ve made tremendous inroads in the fields of psychiatry and medicine.  

“A few very minor ethical tweaks to society and we are a good deal closer to utopia, George.How can you not see this as better?”

Orr seemed about to argue for a moment, but then collapsed against the couch, his eyes wandering off randomly.Haber relaxed.It was about time.He didn’t want to have to punish Orr too much for his insubordination and risk lingering discomfort clouding their sexual congress. He was far more a carrot man than a stick man anyway.Orgasms over welts.

He went to do some fussing around.Cleaning and stowing the trancap, uploading Orr’s EEG readings into the secure server for further analysis.Orr clearly needed a cool down session before he was released, so Haber did his best to take his time and give Orr a chance to think over his situation.

“Where is Heather?”Orr said at last.

“Who?”

“Ms. Lelache… the lawyer.Is she still waiting in the outer office?”

Haber tilted his head.“Why should she be?You have no need for a lawyer, George.In fact, you aren’t allowed one, though I could get one in your behalf if I thought it necessary.Ms. Lelache is doubtless at home, where ever her home is, perhaps getting ready to go to work.She doesn’t know you anymore.She won’t be interfering.”

Orr looked at him.“She was helping me.”

“She was getting between us.Seducing you away from me.”Haber couldn’t hold back his anger.“I can’t allow that.You have to understand that you need me.Running away … dreaming up aliens and invasion… we can’t allow that to happen again, George.None of your dreams were nightmares before she came along.She was not helping you.She was aiding in your … resistance.”

Haber left his desk and moved on Orr, fully knowing that his size and the restraints that held Orr down made him intimidating.He wanted Orr to feel cowed.  

“Look at me,” he said when Orr closed his eyes and turned away.“Look at me,” he said more insistently when Orr hesitated to comply.“You belong to me, George.Mind, body, soul, all of you.God gave you to _me_.You were meant to be here, with me, under me.All your misery comes from not knowing your place.”

“Under you,” Orr repeated.“This isn’t a partnership.You want to top me.Be honest.”

“I am being honest,” said Haber.“And yes, I want to top you.I want to make you come, feel you writhe in pleasure beneath my body.I want to fuck you right there, on the couch.”

Orr’s nipples stood out beneath the sheer fabric of his shirt.His breath seemed to catch and he winced.Probably the chastity sheath.

“I don’t want to go back to the old world,” said Haber. “I couldn’t have you in that world.This one, I can.”

“I’m your property,” Orr said, as if to himself.

“Yes, you are.”

 

* * *

 

Haber left him tied to the couch for more than an hour because of the insubordination and told him that there was a further paddling waiting him at home.Orr knew that there would be consequences, but he hadn’t been able to stop his mouth.There was too much of the old world left in him.Even though he could remember Haber having taught him what was acceptable and what wasn’t, the lesson hadn’t stuck — not in any version of the world.

Orr was doomed.If only Haber would be less… like he was.

Perhaps the dream could fundamentally change a person’s personality. Orr wondered if that were the case.Haber wasn’t hiding things from him anymore, thanks to the dream he’d had up in the cabin.On the other hand, the openness hadn’t made life any different.Haber still enjoyed playing mind games with him at every opportunity.

Had Haber wanted to fuck him all this time?Was it just professional ethics that had stopped him from it?  

But no, it had been Orr who’d brought sex into the whole thing.Haber merely wanted Orr to be meek and useful and unquestioningly cooperative.Orr had been the one to bring in the leather and chains.And chastity belt.

Orr wiggled.He needed to pee.It was just as well the device didn’t allow him to.Haber would be furious if Orr wet his couch.It was expensive.He gave a pained giggle at the thought.

It wasn’t funny.It was, in fact, disturbing the extent his subconscious had handed over his bodily autonomy to Haber.He expected that there would be no legal recourse— there never had been, so why should that change.Heather being gone entirely, though….  

He saw Haber’s resentful expression when he noticed Heather was with him.But he’d thought that Haber would approve of him having a friend and emotional support. Apparently he was wrong.

 _Why did I imagine I was Haber’s slave-lover?_ Orr wondered. _Did I subconsciously want to sleep with him?_ He’d heard of patients developing crushes on their shrinks, but if Orr had had one, it was buried pretty deeply.

Or maybe it was that Orr had noticed in some way Haber’s attraction to himself.There had always been a predatory quality to Haber.At times he’d seemed like he wanted to eat Orr as a snack.They’d talked about sex occasionally and Haber had pried to find out if he’d had any male lovers (he hadn’t — but then he hadn’t had many female ones either, just Debra and a couple of others.Even in the realities that tended more towards free love, he could count all those he’d slept with on two hands.Post Crash, he had pared that list down to one; the others had died before meeting him. Even Heather hadn’t slept with him — though he thought that she might have, maybe, if things had turned out differently.)Haber had had lovers, women and men, by the dozen. But they’d all been one night stands, physical release and nothing more. His now relationship with Orr was far beyond that, so something must have changed.

Maybe his subconscious thought that Haber would be more careful with his feelings if Orr was his lover.It was a nice thought.That Haber wouldn’t just use him and toss him aside when he was done.He’d keep Orr, and care for him, and cherish him.

But there hadn’t really been much cherishing in their relationship.Lots of sex.Lots of control exercises, as Haber liked to call them.Things designed to force Orr to let go and put all his trust in Haber.But Haber never asked what Orr wanted or needed.He simply told Orr what he was going to get. That didn’t seem like cherishing.

“Have you had enough time to think?” asked Haber, looking up from his paperwork.“I think I’m done here.I’ve rearranged my day so that I can spend it entirely with you.We’ve had a bit of a break in trust.I think we need to solidify the non-dreaming part of our relationship.”He stood up, looking huger than ever. Somehow knowing what Haber looked like naked made him seem only more frightening.

Orr shuddered and closed his eyes.

“Don’t be afraid.”Orr felt a large hand cup his chin, running thick fingers through the fringe of a beard that he’d maintained now through a dozen or more dream changes.“I will never harm you, George.Hurt you, yes,a little, for your own good.But never harm.”Orr felt Haber’s breath on his eyes and the tickle of Haber’s beard against his nose.Then his chin was lifted and Haber’s thick, warm lips pressed against his own.The kiss was light and chaste at first, but then he felt it deepen, tugging, a wet tongue tasting his lips before slipping between them.Haber’s whiskers scratched his chin and left cheek.He was invaded.

It was like no kiss Orr had ever felt.It was like many that Haber had given him over the weeks.

His body tightened and he squirmed without meaning to.Luckily Haber misinterpreted it as being passion rather than revulsion.(And was it revulsion?Orr didn’t feel so much disgusted as uncomfortable, unprepared. Too much.) Haber leaned back and Orr opened his eyes to see him looking down, glowing with happiness.

Haber undid the cuffs — at last.The arms first, Orr rubbed his wrists, then the legs, decoupling the slave anklet from the couch with a thumb-print. Orr stood up gingerly.

“Shall we hit the bathroom first, George, or do you think you can make it home.”Haber’s hand slipped casually down Orr’s belly to where his bladder lay full and uncomfortable. 

“Now, please,” he said, embarrassed.“May I do it by myself this time?”But a look at Haber’s face dashed his hope.

“Not until we’ve reestablished trust with each other.You’ve been fighting me, questioning me, Orr.You know you can’t do that.”

“It’s dangerous and irrational,” said Orr, mimicking Haber’s words from hypnosis.

“Exactly.”

Haber had a bathroom attached to the outer office.Orr looked around, hoping to see Heather waiting patiently for him, maybe trying to sleep on the uncomfortable looking leather and chrome chairs.The only person there was Ms. Crouch, who exchanged a word or two with Haber as they walked across the room.She didn’t seem at all surprised to see them enter the single stall bathroom together.

Without warning Haber gripped the hips of Orr’s sweatpants and pulled them down.Orr bit back a cry of surprise.His hands flew to the plastic device around his cock, feeling the way the device plugged him up.Haber yanked his hands away.  

“Put your palms flat on the wall,” Haber ordered and Orr did so while Haber unlocked the sheath and pulled it off.The short tube came out of his urethra with an unbearable tickle-burning sensation.It took all his effort not to immediately piss all over himself.

Haber grabbed his shoulders and turned him to the toilet. Then he pulled both Orr’s hands behind his back and held them with one hand while the other reached forward to help him aim at the bowl.Orr blushed again.This was ridiculous.How was he supposed to piss with another man’s hand on his cock?Despite needing to pee terrifically, Orr found it hard to relax enough to do so.It was all too bizarre and intimate.The part of him that remembered doing this ever since his third week with Haber, warred with the part of him that knew that both of them should have been disgusted by the mere idea.

If Haber was having any trouble giving into their new intimate relationship, he was showing no signs of it.“Don’t be obstinate, George,” he said.“Or I’ll put the chastity back on you and you can wait until we get home.”

With that threat Orr was able to force himself to pee but the resistance made his teeth grit. Just to heighten his sense of degradation and embarrassment, it took far longer to empty his bladder than usual. At the very last, his body fully relaxed and was able to empty his bladder completely in a sudden relieving gush.Orr felt as if a great stress had been lifted from him, the relief made him giddy.

Haber thoughtfully shook him off, then put the chastity back on, despite Orr’s begging him not to.

“What has gotten into you,” tutted Haber as he washed his hands.“I told you how I feel about begging.It’s manipulative. You are trying to take control and we both know what you need is to release control, free yourself from the need to try to make things happen.I really thought we’d gotten through this weeks ago.”

“It’s hard,” said Orr, resentfully.“You can’t expect me to give in to all this just because I dreamed it.”

Haber looked surprised. He wiped his hands on a paper napkin.(Paper— that morning there had been no paper towels and hadn’t been any for decades.)“Yes, I think you can.You can live with the realities you’ve made. You always have in the past.”

“I don’t want this reality,” said Orr, hopelessly.

“You didn’t want the other, either,” said Haber, dismissively.“Tell me, is this really so much worse than imminent death? Why even cling to that reality — so much uncertainty and helplessness. Aliens, for heaven’s sake.”

“I’m still helpless,” said Orr. 

“But not uncertain,” countered Haber.“Give in, Orr.This is the way it is.You can’t fight me, you can’t fight this reality.I’m in control of your dreams and I _like_ this reality.I don’t even know how you did it.How did you know what would please me so much?”He gently touched Orr’s cheek, then leaned down to kiss his neck.“It’s okay,” he breathed in Orr’s ear.“I take this responsibility very seriously.I won’t let you down.You will have everything you need, in proper measure.”

Tears leaked out of Orr’s eyes.He couldn’t stop them.He tried to turn his head so that Haber wouldn’t see, wouldn’t comment on them.But Haber’s attention was in laser-like focus.

“Shh,” Haber said, his voice like the rumble of thunder.“Shh, you are having a bit of a crisis, but it will pass.”

Orr’s tears dried.Itwould pass.That was the one thing about the situation that was sure.Haber would never let well enough alone.Orr would be dreaming again soon.

Haber, being as important and famous as he was, normally had a driver take him to and from his office, but with his schedule so thoroughly out of kilter, thanks to Orr’s sudden remission, he felt it best not to wait for one to be available.He took the keys to one of the Institutes batcars from the security office downstairs and hustled Orr into the back of a shiny black Volvo Flyer.

Now this was the life, he thought, enjoying taking the vehicle around the tight turns through Forest Park to get to Skyline Drive where his house stood, perched above the world.He wondered why he let someone else drive him so often.He’d almost forgotten the joy of controlling a responsive vehicle.

Orr was so silent that Haber forgot he was there until he happened to glance into the rear view mirror.Orr was leaning against the glass, staring glumly out at the scenery.Haber felt a touch of irritation at Orr’s attitude until he remembered that he’d promised the man a spanking when they arrived.He supposed it was a bit much to expect cheerfulness in the face of that.

He didn’t bother to check on Orr again until they reached the mansion.It was enormous and modern, made up of clean lines, smooth, cream colored stucco punctuated with large glass windows.He parked in the ample garage and let himself into the side foyer, pausing only to change the settings on Orr’s anklet to the perimeter of the house, minus a few rooms which Orr knew damn well were off limits.

He then swept through the house with large strides, taking in the splendor of his domain. He’d owned this place now through six — no seven dreams, and with each dream it grew grander, with more rooms, more details that fit his fancy.Three dreams ago, he’d lost his neighbors to either side, so that now his view was solely filled with nature close by and humanity spreading out at a comfortable distance.

 This was the life!He couldn’t help but savor the views out the large windows and the rich sound of his footsteps on the shiny black floor.Everything was clean with an aesthetic that hit the sweet spot between stark minimalism and comfortable curves.His house had been featured on several interior designing shows.Haber found it soothing to the eye and the spirit.

Orr’s eyes were huge but his face reserved.He said nothing, so Haber stepped in to start the conversation. 

 “It’s quite a step up from your old apartment, living here?”Orr had been living an old house on Corbett, full of creaking floorboards and slightly off square windows.The rooms were large enough and the view nice (though nothing compared to Haber’s), but Orr had never bothered to furnish the place and all the bare walls and floor lent an oddly haunted feel to the place that gave Haber the willies.

“It’s very grand,” Orr commented as they passed the main foyer.

“You know,” said Haber, feeling generous.“If there is anything you wish to buy to make you feel more at home, I’m very willing to get it for you. Furniture.Art.Paint the walls?I’ll let you customize a room or two to your own tastes — lord knows I have more rooms than I can ever use, and I do want you to be comfortable and happy here.”

“That’s very nice of you,” said Orr, smiling a little in that crooked way that suggested irony.“But it’s okay.”

Haber tutted.“You complain often that I give you little room for freedom of self-expression, and yet you don’t take advantage of it when the opportunity arrises.This is one of your problems, George.”

Orr’s smile faded and he seemed almost sad.“I’m not that much of a materialist, I suppose.The freedom I want isn’t the kind you’re willing to give.”

“I will not give you the freedom to be antisocial or to neglect your needs.”

“Is that what all this is truly about?”asked Orr.

Haber didn’t think that needed a response.

There was no putting things off anymore.The longer he dawdled the more Orr was going to test his limits.With a heavy hand on Orr’s upper arm, lest he think of adding physical defiance to his list of sins, Haber lead him around the grand central staircase to the smaller steeper stairs that lead to the basement.Orr gave him an odd, confused look, before his expression settled into weary acceptance.

This was a bit unusual.Normally Haber simply turned Orr over his knee for punishment.It was spontaneous and simple and could be done in any room.Moreover, he enjoyed the intimacy of having Orr’s weight against his lap.The closeness helped balance out the pain to send a message that Haber did care.That it wasn’t Orr who was bad, but rather his behavior.

But today that wouldn’t be enough, he judged.Orr had been repeatedly insubordinate, argumentative and manipulative.He was almost as badly behaved as he’d been the first day that Haber had brought him to the house.Haber couldn’t overlook it, much as he would prefer to, and a light little spanking simply wasn’t going to cut it.Either Haber would have to really hurt Orr or he’d have to shock the defiance out of him.

It was an interesting coincidence that Orr had dreamed of the frame.It was the perfect tool for the job.

“You’re taking me to the dungeon,” said Orr, suddenly.He must not have realized where they were heading until Haber pressed his hand against the door to release the lock.

“Therapy room,” Haber corrected.“Dungeons are for torture and maiming.This place is for release.”

That said, it was rather dungeon-like. It was one of the few rooms in the entire estate that didn’t have a view. Despite the harsh artificial light, it had an oppressive, cluttered feeling, what with the frame dominating the center and various cabinets and benches encroaching in from the walls. 

Numerous paddles and whips were prominently displayed — mostly as art (Haber would never use the barbed bullwhip on Orr, though it did serve to put him in the right state of mind).Below and between the displays, shelves and cabinets were crowded with less frightening devices.There were dildos of many sizes, shapes, and materials as well as beads, vibrators, gags, sounds and chastities in various degrees of severity.One cabinet was devoted entirely to sensory toys, feathers, fur, pin wheels, and electro stimulators. There was a cabinet for drugs that would help increase the libido, sensitize or numb the flesh, sedate or stimulate as Haber felt was needed. A corner was devoted to a shiny metal shower, where Orr could be tied down and cleaned, both inside and out.And everywhere were ropes, ties, manacles, bonds, hoods and sleeves, all designed to keep Orr still and pliable and available for whatever Haber deemed necessary.

The room was a sex therapists dream.Haber had spared no expense in equipping it— all for George who scarcely appreciated it.But that was how life frequently worked out, wasn’t it?

“You may remove your clothes and place them on the bench," said Haber off handedly as he shut the door behind them.There was a solid snick as the lock engaged — just one of those little psychological tricks, like the restraints on the couch at work or the frame itself, to let Orr know that escape wasn’t possible. 

Orr swallowed, his eyes seemed hung up on a rather intimidating spiked paddle.For the tiniest moment Haber worried that Orr might grab it and attempt to attack him with it.But the moment passed.Doubtless Orr realized that no good could possibly come of it.And Orr was not by nature a violent man (thank God.)

Instead Orr began to disrobe.Haber turned to the wall and looked over his choices.He dismissed anything that would cut the skin or leave too deep a bruise.That left out the whips.There were a number of paddles — some heavier, some textured.No, still too much.Haber considered a slightly flexible paddle bout the width of his hand, covered in smooth leather.Yes, that would do.It would make a satisfying noise as it pinked Orr up.

“Stand in the frame,” ordered Haber, looking over at Orr who was now naked, huddled defensively forward, his arms crossed protectively over his chest. That little beard of Orr’s quivered and, though Haber kept the therapy room at a steady 75 degrees, he shivered.

“You don’t have to do this,” said Orr suddenly, desperation making his voice breathy.“We can call this off right here. No matter what this society says we should do, we still have free will.”

“In the frame!” ordered Haber, using his most intimidating voice.The one that told Orr that, by god, he’d gone too far.

Orr jumped and then quickly went over to stand under the frame.Haber grabbed first one arm then the other fastening the leather straps.With a quick crank, Orr’s arms were pulled up over his head.Haber gave it a half turn more, pulling Orr up onto the balls of his feet before pulling the handle of the crank down to lock it off.

“This is what I meant about anti-social behavior,” said Haber.“Free will to defy society is not the kind of free will anyone should want.Rules exist for a reason. How can an ordered society function if people cherry pick which social mores to follow?”

“But it’s not real,” squeaked Orr.The stress position made it difficult to breathe deeply.“It’s just a dream, Dr. Haber.It’s not what I want, and I don’t think it’s what you want either, not really.”

“That’s your delusion talking,” said Haber dismissively.He lifted the chosen paddle off its hook and weighed it in his hand, liking the way it fit in his grip.“I’m doing this for your benefit, George, not my own.Trust me, I very much prefer to skip the pain.But if I did you would not take my instructions seriously.”With the last three words Haber slapped the the paddle against one of the metal supports of the frame, making a ringing noise that made Orr jump with shock.

“Please, Haber,” whispered Orr.

“Shh,” said Haber, reaching out to caress his hair and cheek.Tenderness was an important part of discipline.Orr had to know that Haber wasn’t doing this out of anger or hatred, even though his patience was being sorely tried.He gently lifted Orr’s chin so that he was looking straight ahead instead of down.“Shh, shh.Let’s get this over with.”

Reluctantly Haber let go of Orr’s chin and stepped into position.He paused a moment to admire the pale rounded shape of Orr’s ass.It seemed almost feminine in its softness, inviting touch and intrusion. And this:Haber tightened his grip on the paddle and swung his arm in a well practiced arc.

The meaty sound of the paddle hitting flesh was matched by the cry that immediately escaped Orr’s lips. The pale globes of Orr's ass turned a delicate pink.Haber’s mouth watered and he couldn’t resist running his fingers over the rising flesh.It felt warm and slightly tacky to his fingers.  

“One,” said Haber. Then he swung again. A second wide band of pink overlapped the first. Orr’s cry wasn’t quite as loud this time, so Haber notched up the force with blow number three.That did achieve a satisfying yelp. 

Haber found a pace, about a second between blows, that kept Orr cries more intense each time.Haber’s breath grew tight and quick as he gave into the cathartic joy of the paddle and the shock and resistance of Orr’s body.His groin grew heavy with excitement.He sped up a little giving the last few blows in a climactic barrage, sacrificing power for speed.Orr’s full throated scream didn’t end until after Haber stopped and stepped back.

Orr let out a wail of relief that dissolved in choking sobs. He shook and spasmed so hard that he couldn’t keep his feet beneath him and hung by his wrists.Haber set the paddle down and uncranked the restraints until Orr could stand flat footed again.

“That was thirty,” said Haber, examining his handiwork.

Orr’s back seemed sculpted.Haber could practically see the muscles cramping under the skinFresh sweat rolled down his sides, making him glisten.The buttocks were now rounder and fuller than they had been.Rosy and hot to the touch.Orr flinched as Haber smoothed his fingers back and forth over the punished flesh, grabbing each globe and prying them slightly apart to see the pale valley between.  

Haber’s erection pressed hard against his pants and sweat wet his mustache.

“Don’t,” murmured, Orr, as Haber lightly drew his finger down the crevice, until he brushed the pucker of the anus with his fingertip.

“Shh, shh,” said Haber, withdrawing the finger.“Don’t beg.It’s all over.I’m simply checking to make sure you aren’t too injured.That was a harder beating than I usually give you, but you had to know that you were really pushing your luck with me today.Now before you consider speaking again, let me remind you that as far as your therapy is concerned, I’m the expert and my judgement must never be questioned.And I expect complete and immediate obedience.”

Orr nodded.

“But I think both of us need a break from the tension and a little pleasure to balance out the pain.”Haber certainly did.His cock felt monstrously huge.Ever since this dream reality had begun his libido had been mercilessly teased, and now, with Orr naked, bound, and available, so tender and helpless, it was all he could do not to unzip his pants and plow right in.But with so many toys and props, it was a shame to go too fast.He grabbed himself and squeezed, not wanting to squander the opportunity on a quickie.He was not so young that he could manage two in a row.

So many possibilities… starting with the frame itself.

“Tell you what,” said Haber in his most magnanimous voice, “I’m going to do you a favor and take away your choice to disobey me.All you need to do lie there and feel. I’ll do all the heavy lifting.” 

Orr barely heard him.He was lost in his own misery.The sting of the paddle had died down to a prickly, burning ache that turned wickedly sharp whenever Haber touched him.His shoulders and wrists ached from carrying his weight.His thighs and calves throbbed from standing in an awkward position.Even his chest and belly felt cramped.

Never, not in any of his realities, had he felt so uncomfortable. The closest was the poisoned world of April 1998.But he’d been dying then. He wasn’t dying now, there was no end in sight and it was only going to get worse.He was going to be raped.

Haber was beyond reason.He’d gone mad, seduced by this reality.I seduced him, Orr thought bitterly.And not just with this last dream.Over and over.With every dream, Haber’s appetites had become huger, more insatiable.More, always more.More power, more control, more adulation. Avarice, pride, greed and now lust.

Orr couldn’t stand up to that.He doubted anyone could.

_But I have to.I have to stop him, and not just for myself._

Orr’s thoughts were jarred when, with a clack and and a clang, a padded panel pressed up like a wall against his back. Haber had moved around where Orr could see him, turning the various cranks on the giant armature, making cables go taut and counterweights fall.A strap was secured under his arms and across his upper chest then Orr was overbalanced, then pulled entirely off his feet from behind as the panel tipped up and became a table.Haber paused to wipe the sweat from his brow, and adjust his pants which tented out under the strain of an erection.

There was one last chance to pull them back from the brink, though it terrified Orr to take it.

“It’s not too late,” he pleaded.“You can say no to this.”

Haber said nothing, maybe he hadn’t heard.  

He turned his back on Orr and began searching through one of the cabinets. When he turned around again he had a bar gag in his hand.“Shh,” he said pressing the metal between Orr’s lips, his thumbs digging into Orr’s cheeks until he was forced to open his jaw and let the gag in.It pressed against his tongue, pushing it down, his teeth couldn’t close, and the corners of his mouth were pulled slightly back, like he was smiling.

Now it’s too late, thought Orr.  

Haber couldn’t even conceive of saying no to himself.No matter how nobel his intentions they’d always be twisted to serve his self-centered desires. 

“Now,” said Haber, breaking the silence, “I don’t want you thinking too hard about this, George.Thinking’s my problem, not yours.All you need to do is let go.Let the experience sweep you along.Lose your inhibitions.Give in to catharsis.”

As he spoke he grabbed each of Orr’s ankles and began positioning his legs, snapping them in broad restraints so that he was held from foot to mid-shin to the table beneath him.His arms, still held high were then lowered until they rested against his chest.Haber then positioned each of them to his sides, hooking the cables under the panel so that once more Orr couldn’t move his arms at all.

“We aren’t leaving this room,” Haber continued, “Until you’ve had a good strong orgasm.I won’t be satisfied with anything less and right now you need all the endorphins and hormones you can get.Now I know after such a beating it will be difficult to give in to pleasure, I’m sure you feel quite raw about it, but let it not be said that I’m impatient.We’ll get to the root of this crisis and work it out.”

Haber fiddled for a few more minutes with the frame, adjusting Orr so that he was now reclining rather than laying flat.Then he did something else and a section of the table fell away from under Orr’s thighs.Each of his legs was then forced to bend independently at the knee. lifted up and off to the side, leaving a wide gap between them.  

Orr let out a hopeless moan as Haber stepped in the empty space between his thighs and removed the chastity.His freed cock lay like a fat pale slug in a nest of light brown pubes.

Haber’s dark eyes looked feverish as he slid an eager hand to lift Orr’s balls and rub a knuckle into the skin of his taint.With his other hand he gingerly took Orr’s limp cock and rolled it between his fingers, pinching the foreskin and lightly tugging it.

Orr shifted a little and hissed as the skin of his painfully sore buttocks pulled on the vinyl padding.Haber’s eyes flashed to Orr’s expression.“Hmm.”

He withdrew to the medicine cabinet and returned with with a jar of ointment and a pair of nitrile gloves. “A little numbing cream, I think.Lift your buttocks a little, this will only take a moment.”

Haber slathered his gloved hands with a greyish cream.The smell made Orr’s nose twitch.“Up, up, good boy!”Orr tilted his pelvis whileHaber pushed both hands under Orr’s bottom. Orr cried out at the roughness, but then quickly came a wave of coolness, and then a kind of rubbery numbness.When Orr relaxed his hips again, it felt as if he were seated on a thick gel pad.

Haber pulled off the gloves and disposed of them. “Let’s try that again.”

Haber returned to molesting George.His fingers light and teasing, gently manipulating his shaft and glans in an effort to arouse Orr.After a minute or two of this and no results, Haber seemed to grow impatient, despite his early declaration.

He withdrew again, for longer this time.Orr could see him rummaging in several of his cabinets.He pulled rolling tray table away from the wall and began setting various toys on it. Anticipation made Orr nervous as Haber repeatedly paused to consider which object he preferred.He seemed to debate between a long, thin purple dildo and a shorter, stouter black one, eventually putting both on the now crowded tray.

Orr’s breath quickened to panic as Haber returned.  

“This is really quite difficult,” Haber said.There was a sheepishness to Haber's voice and Orr thought he saw a glimpse of something almost human.He felt a note of hope, thinking that perhaps Haber might be having second thoughts and might be feeling ashamed at taking Orr without his consent.But no it was just his appetites at war with each other.  

Haber confirmed it with his words:“My instincts tell me to go slow and be thorough, but my libido really wants nothing more than a quick and dirty satisfaction.It’s really a trial.”

The sheer pitying selfishness broke through Orr’s terror and for a moment he felt nothing but distain.

But then the terror was back, because Haber had chosen to act. The opening salvo was a metal ring, similar to one that would hold up a shower curtain.Orr had no idea what its purpose was until Haber slipped it over the head of Orr’s cock and pushed it firmly down to the base.Immediately Orr’s cock began to fill, despite his lack of sexual interest.

“Cock-rings have long been used by men with erectile dysfunction to help achieve a longer lasting and more powerful erection.It works by squeezing surface veins that remove the blood from your penis, the arteries that bring the blood in are deeper in and aren’t effected. More blood in than out makes for a harder hard-on.”He chuckled at his own play on words.

Orr’s cock was now rigid and turning purple. The veins stood out in high relief.Haber resumed softly stroking him.This time each ticklishly light caress seemed magnified. His nerves betrayed him and despite himself he felt sexual pleasure. 

Haber watched his expression with a smugness that was more obscene than his ministrations.“That’s right.It feels good doesn’t it.Don’t fret it. Underneath the veneer of civilization we are all animals. The need for pleasure and sexual release is vital to our very existence. It’s built deep into our genetics, millions of years old.You can’t fight it.No one can.” 

Orr bucked his hips — unable to bear the slow, unsatisfying teasing.Haber apparently had been waiting for that, for though he tutted at Orr’s presumption, he also grinned.He stopped teasing, leaving Orr jutting stiffly in the air, and took a wide canvas strap and secured Orr’s hips to the table. One more degree of helplessness.One more freedom lost.

Haber then turned back to the toys arranged haphazardly on the table beside him.He selected a small bottle and showed it to George.“This is is a sensitizing liquid.”He put a dab carefully on a cloth.“Nothing like a little of this to make your nerve endings sit up and beg, heh,” Haber seemed positively jolly.“Not too much though.We don’t want you feeling pain.”

He put a dab carefully on a square of cloth and rubbed it against first one nipple then the other. Like the numbing cream earlier, the effect was swift.First a tingling then a warmth that neared burning.His nipples felt swollen.And now came Haber’s fingers, stroking each hardening nub.Even the tiniest touch magnified to nearly unbearable.Orr couldn’t really tell if what he was feeling was pain or pleasure or a mix of both. He grunted urgently against his gag, hoping to let Haber know that he couldn’t take it.Haber’s response was merely to chuckle a little, then replace his fingers with his mouth.

Orr screamed around the gag.There was no question what he felt this time.It was pleasure.The kind that ran like lightning thorough his chest and down his belly to where his cock now throbbed and began to leak.

 As Haber exchanged sucking for a rapid flicking lick, Orr did exactly as Haber wanted and gave in entirely to sensation.

Haber was in his element, lathing Orr’s right nipple with his tongue and feeling the way his muscles flexed with passion in response.The taste of cinnamon, the smell of sweat, the feel of soft, responsive skin, it was too much!Never, ever, had he felt more powerful than he did at this moment.Not the moment when Portland’s medical board picked him to run the Oneirological Institute.Not even the time the President himself had called for a consult.

Why had he not fucked Orr before this?The thought confused his sex addled mind, because, of course, he had fucked Orr, on a nearly daily basis for the last six weeks.All these toys had been used before.And yet it also felt like it was the first time.The way Orr was responding was not like that of an indentured servant, well jaded to bedroom frolicking, but as a virgin discovering a whole new sensual world.

Orr had been practically a virgin when Haber had gotten to him.He’d never ventured beyond the most vanilla practices, and rarely even went that far.It had been Haber’s pleasure to introduce him to the rainbow of sexual experience.He’d never expected to be able to do that twice.

Haber’s overeager cock twitched threateningly and he had to withdraw to calm himself.

Orr was panting against the bit.His eyes had closed and his chest heaved. Goose pimples suddenly broke out over his arms and legs.Beautiful. Haber ran his tongue over his lips to get the last taste of the oil.

“Break now,” said Haber, “Then, I think you are ready for a little anal work.”He washed his hands to remove any lingering bit of the sensitizing oil.When he returned he wetted a finger with plain lube.

With his left hand he lifted and weighed Orr’s balls. The sack had grown tight and wrinkled.It was just as well he’d stopped stimulating Orr’s nipples when he had or Orr might have come too early.With the other hand he rubbed the lube in a circle around the pucker of his anus, spiraling in to press gently at the center.

Orr didn’t open up for him.His anus, in fact, flinched tighter.

It was as Haber suspected.Orr had completely reverted to his pre-indentured state.He was acting like an anal virgin. Which just reinforced Haber’s decision to engage in extended foreplay.

The smallest of the items that Haber had selected was a set of anal beads that ranged from no wider in diameter than a dime to little larger than a quarter.It would really be no more difficult for Orr to take the smallest of these, than it would for him to take a single one of Haber’s thick fingers.

He began lubing up the beads, glancing over at Orr to see his reaction. Orr had opened his eyes and was frowning again, as if he wasn’t entirely sure what Haber was doing or planning to do.Then a shudder went through him as memory clicked in.

Haber pressed the first bead into place.Predictably it was small enough that Orr couldn’t hold himself closed to it.The muscle closed around the string, then opened again as Orr tried to expel it.Haber took advantage of that loosening to push the next bead in, then the next.Orr’s body tried to tighten up again for the fourth bead, but Haber persisted.He’d reached the wider beads, but they went in as well, meeting with weaker and weaker resistance until he pushed the twelfth and largest bead through the hole.

He let Orr consider the feeling of being full for the space of a few seconds.Then slipped his finger through the ring at the end and began pulling out, slow at first, but then quicker.Stretch, release, stretch, release.The stimulated muscle had no choice to relax.  

Orr let out hiss and his cock twitched.When they were all out of his body he let out a moan of relief.

Haber smiled, and then pressed the first bead back in.

Orr gasped and clawed at the vinyl padding under him as Haber invaded him with the beads a second, third, and fourth time.By the fifth time around, Haber was shoving each bead in one right after the other,quickly and efficiently until Orr was left with a knobby but not uncomfortable fullness inside him.He felt a teasing pleasure at the base of his cock and he wished he had a hand free to masturbate, or that Haber would take pity on him and rub his needy cock until he came. Instead Haber continued to tease his ass, tugging slowly at the string of beads until Orr's sphincter was forced to give up the fattest of the beads and as soon as it had, Haber pulled viciously.The rest popped back out with in a rippling explosion.A pang centered on his prostate grew momentarily more exquisite, and his cock throbbed.

“I think we are ready to step things up here,” said Haber.“You are loosening nicely now.Let’s go deeper in.”It was time for the dildos, Orr knew.Sure enough Haber held up a purple dildo, only a single inch in diameter, but fully ten long.He slicked it with lube from tip to the fake balls at the base, and then began to work it in Orr.

The first bit slid in without much resistance.His anal muscles were still tingling and loose from the rough massage of the beads, but as Haber thrust forward Orr felt as if he were being stretched too far.He let out a hiss of discomfort, and Haber stopped.

“Five inches,” he said, “You can do better than that.”He withdrew the dildo and Orr let out a breath of relief, but then Haber reversed the motion and pushed in again, to the point where Orr felt the discomfort again and then rode past it.“Seven inches — better.” On the third stroke Haber pressed it down to the base and Orr felt utterly speared.

Orr’s cock flagged a bit.It was still hard, but not twitching.The hose of precum had shut off for the moment.Haber, ever vigilant, noticed the change at once. He to consider it a moment, then without fanfare or warning, he leaned forward and took Orr’s cock into his mouth.

The sudden sensation of heat and wetness around his cock, after having it be neglected for so long(it felt like it had been hours since this had started), made Orr’s need shoot up fast.He was back to full hardness in a moment, as Haber’s huge tongue swiped lazily over the glans. Orr hardly felt the dildo sliding in and out of him.

Disappointingly quickly (and well short of orgasm) Haber stopped sucking and let his cock go. Orr let out a whine of frustration and stared daggers at Haber, who looked terribly smug about it.

“Now now, no mean looks, George, you will get to come, I assure you, but only when you are ready.”

I’m ready now, thought Orr.But then he felt ashamed.This was rape, he shouldn’t be enjoying this at all, much less telling Haber with every squirm and moan how much he wanted it.He didn’t think that Haber would change his mind even if Orr could keep still, but at the very least it would make Haber less gleeful.

“You are thinking,” Haber tutted.“I told you not to.”In punishment he jammed the dildo viciously in and Orr let out a little yelp of discomfort.

After a few more strokes with the purple dildo, Haber swapped it out for the thicker black one. This was twice as thick as the one he’d been using on Orr and sure enough there was resistance to it going in.Haber persisted, applying steady pressure until the head finally pushed past the pink rim and slid all the way to the base.Other than a squeak of pain right as he yielded, Orr was silent, his lips taut, teeth bared, the bit looking shiny between them.

“Good boy,” said Haber, remembering to provide positive reinforcement when Orr had succeeded at a task.“You can take it.”Orr was taking it, every inch of its length and all two inches in diameter,in quick shallow thrusts.Haber marveled at how Orr’s anus swallowed the fat black rubber.It was a magic trick Haber never tired of seeing.

Every so often he gave a little delicious attention to Orr’s cock. It really was a lovely thing — neither too large nor small, thick nor thin.It was ramrod straight, curving neither up nor down nor to the sides.Just perfect.Haber loved the flavor of it and wanted to drink it all down, suck down as much precum as he could pull from it. But instead he drew back. Orr was far too quick to reach for orgasm, but all Haber wanted was to give him enough of a prod to keep that engine revving.  

He wiped the sweat back from his forehead with his sleeve.Thank goodness Orr was far too lost in the pleasures of his own body to notice what a mess Haber was.Sweat dampened Haber’s beard and plastered his short curls to his forehead. His shirt would need the help a of a good dry cleaner.Worse,his arm was starting to cramp a little.With regret he gave one last hard thrust, pressing as much of the dildo as he could into George and using the flared base to waggle it in a circle.George answered with a muffled whimper.

Cool down time, he thought.He pulled the dildo out of Orr with a sucking little pop and replaced it with yet another toy.The butt plug wasonly half an inch wider than the black dildo, but it was made up of a series of graduated bulges, like the beads.He thought that the interesting shape might keep Orr amused during the break and it didn’t require much work on Haber’s part.

As expected Orr perked up the moment the black dildo was removed and groaned once more when Haber began stuffing him again.Haber went slow so that Orr could feel each of the graduated bulges as the pushed through and savor the relief of the narrower section between them.The third and largest bulge he pushed in extra slowly, quarter inch at a time, until at last Orr’s anus stretched thin around two and a half inches.Orr sweated and squirmed in his restraints.Then with just a tiny tap, he sent it past the thickest point and Orr’s ass obediently closed over the sharply tapered neck, pulling it in until the flared base rested tightly in his crevice.

Breathing hard, Haber stepped back and stretched. He was hot. Belatedly he began to work himself out of his shirt.The buttons slipped frustratingly under his lube moistened fingers, but at last enough of them had been pulled free that he could pull the shirt over his head.The undershirt followed, and Haber enjoyed the sensation of his sweat drying off his torso in the open air.

The pants followed.His cock was so eager to be free of its prison that release was dizzying.His hand went to the hot eager bar of flesh and soothed it with careful, gentle strokes.Then he pulled his hand away before he could give in to the temptation to masturbate.There was only one way he was going to come, and that was looking right in Orr’s eyes while buried to the hilt in that soft, gorgeous ass.Of that, he was determined.

He turned and gave Orr an appraising look.The man was a wreck — hair saturated with sweat and tufted up oddly from all the thrashing.Haber’s eyes lit on way the bit forced Orr’s face into a grimace of passion, then focused on the two nipples, still puffed up from being sucked.Orr’s belly, nicely defined by the exercises Haber had designed for him, shuddered up and down with each huge gulping breath.And then the feast of his genitals:the anus was hidden by the flare of the plug, but the wrinkled scrotum was nicely displayed and a rounded bead of precum traced its way down the inviting head of his cock. And peaking out shyly was a bit of rounded mounds of his buttocks, still bright pink from the earlier paddling.

Haber moaned with desire, all thoughts of professionalism was lost.Not waiting to be gentle (after all the earlier work, Orr damn well better be ready by now) Haber grabbed the plug and yanked it roughly out.Orr’s anus contracted weakly but was unable to close.Haber didn’t take more than a half-seconds notice of the swollen, lube-moistened lips before he lined up and thrusted.

He pressed forward with steady force.There was a slight burn as his dry cock soaked up the excess lube left over from the earlier play.The first thrust vacillated between hot juddering friction and sudden slide, but by the second thrust, the lube had spread itself more or less evenly and the resistance melted away.

Orr ass was perfect.Hot and moist, it hugged his cock with the right level of pressure to stimulate, but not so much as to squeeze. And oh, god, that sound Orr made at the back of his throat.Under other circumstances Haber would think it was pain, but he knew it was pleasure.And it was an almost physical fight to stop coming right there, having barely claimed his territory.

 With a pained groan of his own, Haber pulled entirely out of Orr and clamped his fingers down around the base of his own cock and waited for those first threatening spasms to die down before he dared give himself any stimulation.His balls were now hurting with need, but Haber was absolutely determined to see this through properly, not give into pleasure and come like some school boy losing his virginity.

When Haber was done with Orr he would know for damn sure he’d been good and properly claimed.

Orr let out a sigh as Haber pulled out.Was it over?Please let it be over, let him be satisfied, let me come.But no, he was back, overwhelming him with his hairy hugeness.Orr’s thighs, already spread wide were pressed further apart by Haber’s hips and waist.Haber’s hand grabbed his knee, as if to hold himself steady.There was a quick probing at Orr’s painfully abused hole, and then with a burning thrust Haber was all the way in again.

In some ways Haber’s cock was nicer than the toys that had been usedbefore. He was neither as long as the thin dildo, nor as fat as the short one and there was nothing hard or lumpy about the texture.No it was almost soothing compared.With every thrust there was a zing of pleasure both from his thoroughly rubbed prostate, but also just from the walls of his ass themselves. Orr understood why many men loved to bottom.Maybe under other circumstances, he might have as well.

 But there was also a roughness that made Orr cry out with pain as well as pleasure.Haber hadn’t bothered to lube himself up and Orr was well past sore from the relentless penetration.It was just too much and had gone on too long.He was exhausted.The numbing cream was beginning to wear off and the relentless rocking was making his butt tingle with painful pinpricks.

There was absolutely no mistaking what Haber was doing.He was pummeling Orr with his cock instead of his fist, but it meant the same thing:this was Orr’s place and Haber had every right to put him there. Every move, every look, reeked of dominance.  

Haber grunted and groaned, and he grinned through gritted teeth down at Orr. And he fucked and fucked and fucked.

“Yes,” he hissed.“Yessss.Keep looking at me, George.Don’t turn your eyes away.Don’t you dare look away.I’m doing this to you.You are mine, you hear me.Mine. And when this is all over, when your indenture is complete, you will _still_ be mine.I’ll see to it somehow. Ah!”

With a last gutteral groan, Haber grabbed the sides of the frame and pounded his orgasm deep into Orr.Orr knew he was coming because suddenly all the burning friction disappeared and Haber’s last thrusts were slick and easy and finally pain free.

Haber felt like his body was exploding.Pleasure ripped through him so hard, it seemed to go from groin all the way up through his belly to his chest.He was coming and he could tell every last pent up drop of his come was flooding out.All those hours of lust and desire and denial had come to a monstrous creshendo. This was it, and there was not a thing in the world that Orr could do about it but to take it.Take every last pleasurable stroke, every throbbing inch, every … ah.

He was pulsing. He was gushing, flooding Orr with his sperm.Seeding him up so full Orr would be shitting him for days. 

He felt his mouth move and heard his own voice, but he barely could tell what he was babbling at Orr.Some pleasurable nonsense from deep in the center of his most primitive being.  

And then at last the final jags of orgasm retreated, and sense resumed.Almost immediately the feeling of oversensitivity took him, and he pulled out of Orr with a hiss.

He was gasping, breathless.His heart was hammering and sweat dripped off his nose from all the effort. Thank god he was in good shape.This was the kind of activity that sent men with weak hearts off to their maker.But by god that had felt fantastic. Cathartic and fulfilling.

He braced his tired body against the frame and reached over to wipe his face with a convenient hand towel.As his breath came back he was able to take in Orr again. 

Orr hadn’t come. Well, he hardly expected Orr to.Orr wasn’t some teen that popped off to the rumble of a moving bus.He needed more than just penetration. Those last minutes were for Haber’s pleasure not Orr’s.

But now it was only fair to repay Orr for the pleasure with an orgasm of his own.More than fair, Haber had made a promise to Orr and he had no intention of going back on it.

Even though his lust was thoroughly sated, he still enjoyed the feel and flavor of a nice plump cock in his mouth.

Orr wasn’t sure if he were disappointed or relieved when Haber pulled out of him and seemed, for a moment, so lost in the glow of his own satisfaction that he’d forgotten Orr’s existence. On one hand it was a relief, physically and mentally, and Orr was exhausted.On the other, Haber had left him badly blue balled, and there was a real danger that Haber might put that chastity back on him and let him stew unsatisfied as a further punishment for his insubordination.

But no, once Haber had caught his breath, he returned his attention back to Orr.His expression was less lustful and more greedy.For a second Orr thought of a bear, all hairy and huge, looming over him, ready to eat him.But instead of biting, Haber sat down between his legs and sucked his cock down in one overstimulating swallow.

There was nothing delicate or tentative about the way Haber sucked cock.He sucked it like he owned it, like Orr owed it to give up his come to him.His tongue laved the shaft and glans with wide flat strokes and every time he bobbed up, his fingers chased his lips and extended the stroke. 

For once there was no pain at all.Only pleasure.He wanted to come.He was going to come.He was coming.And it was good, so good, so easy just to fall into and enjoy and let everything else fall away and be forgotten.Haber never slowed, never stopped sucking, just pulled Orr in and drank him down to the last drop and then some until Orr gave out a panicked grunt.

Haber released Orr’s now oversensitive cock with a smile on his face.Then he seemed to collapse a little like the air had escaped him.

“Well George,” he said.“That was quite satisfying for both of us I imagine. But decadent as this is, we can’t dally all day in the therapy room.”He removed the bit and placed it on the tray next to the other discarded toys.

Orr said nothing.He felt too bedraggled to fight Haber.He just wanted to go off somewhere to rest as best as his abused rear would allow.

Haber accepted his silence without comment. He began to manipulate the frame again, this time in reverse, first laying Orr flat, then tilting the table up so that he was deposited on his feet.His arms were released last.When Orr wobbled, Haber held his shoulders to steady them.

“You probably won’t be thinking of coming any time soon,” said Haber, “But for consistency’s sake….”And with that he tugged Orr back into the chastity again.For once, Orr didn’t object.

With a gusty sigh, Haber stretched.“I need a shower.I’ll leave you to clean the therapy room.Do it proper, I don’t want to have to paddle you again so soon.When you are done you can take a shower here or upstairs. I’ll set the door to unlock after half an hour, that should give you enough time. We’ll have lunch in an hour.I expect you to be clean, dressed and presentable by then.

Orr, poor thing, looked utterly bedraggled.He staggered over to tray table to begin the process of cleaning and putting the toys back where they belonged.After that, he’d wipe down the frame and crank it back to its default position.Last he’d deal with take any clothing or towels and put them in laundry.

Haber really didn’t need to supervise, so he let himself out of the room and took a moment to luxuriate again in his own home. He hadn’t bothered to dress — the reflective windows rebuffed any spies and his clothes were an uncomfortably damp mess anyway.Instead he leisurely walked up the stairs to his bedroom suite and took himself a decadently long and well deserved shower.

By the time he was done and dressed again (in casual clothes — he would not be going into the office today), his thoughts had once more turned from Orr to the greater world.There was nothing like a good orgasm to clear the mind, for it now seemed absolutely obvious where he should stand on several of those tricky issues that the Secretary of Labor had asked him about earlier that week.

Haber strutted down the grand stair case and across the hall to his office — a few calls before lunch would do the trick, and mean that he hadn’t wasted the entire day.Really, why had he decided to devote the entire day to Orr?He was an amusing past time, for certain, but hardly one that deserved all the attention of such a great man as Haber.Perhaps it would be best to simply set him on some task after lunch and then Haber could get on to some real accomplishments.

The world wasn’t going to run itself, after all, was it?

 

* * *

 

Orr dragged himself through his chores with moderate amount of disgust.He didn’t much want to touch the toys — he knew exactly where they’d been — and the paddle reminded him that the numbing salve was wearing off.  

Still he soldiered through it, they way he soldiered through everything, with weary acceptance that this was his lot in life.

All he wanted was for the dreams to end.But they weren’t ending.They were just getting more bizarre and horrible. At least when he had dreamed on his own, he’d only killed his aunt.With the dream that had erased a nuclear war, he’d even arguably saved people, or at least bought them a few more years.But the world had been crowded and polluted and there had been wars.It hadn’t been utopia.

Under Haber it had gotten less crowded and the environment had, bit by bit, improved, until with this reality the air was cleaner than it had been when he was born.The little side trip with the Aliens had ultimately lead to world peace. But this whole indentured servitude, with its twin evils of draconian enforcement and legalized rape, this was… wrong.Just wrong.

It couldn’t be tolerated.

But Haber liked it.He liked it just fine. _He’ll never let me undream it, not so long as it means that he can do with me what he wants._

 

Orr needed help. He couldn’t survive this on his own, every ache in his body told him that. Haber was going to use him up and trample him flat and by the end of things, Orr wouldn’t be himself anymore. He’d just be some rag to be used as Haber needed.

_I need Heather._

But what could she do?Haber wasn’t breaking any laws.He was entirely in his right to tie Orr up and fuck him as often as he liked, just as he was allowed to drug and hypnotize and force him to dream up ever grander utopias.Haber’s jealousy would never allow her in Orr’s life, not even as a friend.

I’m the goose that lays the golden eggs.He will tolerate no poachers.

 _I have to do something myself._  

 He didn’t want to do anything but live his life.He’d never asked for the power to change reality.He wasn’t strong — he didn’t have bold ideas about right and wrong.He had the kind of mind that took a prompt about being cooperative and came up with a dungeon full of sex toys.

He was terrified of what he could dream.After all he’d once brought the world back from nuclear war.He could just as easily dream nuclear war back into existence.

 He wanted someone to come along and take the responsibility away from him.But no, that wasn’t true.That’s just what Haber had done. And he hated it.

Orr stopped wiping the frame with disinfectant.

_I hate this._

He abruptly put down the rag, leaving it hanging on a crossbar rather than taking it to the laundry the way he was supposed to. Despite feeling sticky and smelly and thoroughly debauched, he turned his back on the shower with its terrifying chains and tubes and attachments designed to humble and humiliate as much as clean.He put on his clothes and left the dungeon without even putting away the dildos.

He had no idea where in the house Haber was.He had no idea how long it was until lunch.He had no idea when Haber would check on him.All he knew was that he was very tired.

The exercise room was just across the hall from the dungeon.Orr let himself in and found a bottled water in the fridge next to the treadmill.He drank it down in huge gulps while looking out a huge picture window at the suburb of Beaverton (once a city in its own right, post-Crash reduced to a spiderweb of neighborhoods half lost under the trees).

His eyes were too heavy to focus.

There was a wrestling matt a few feet from the window.Orr sat down on it, and then found that once he’d let gravity have its way it was easier not to fight it at all.He put down his water bottle and curled up.

If he let himself sleep now, he’d dream.He’d dream effectively, without prompts. And who knew what the world would be like when he woke up.There might be aliens, or war, or a new plague.The world might not exist at all.Without hypnosis, there was no controlling what would happen.

No, even with hypnosis, there was no controlling what would happen.Haber hadn’t helped at all.Certainly his own mind on its own had been much more modest in its uses.

In any case, his eyelids were shutting.Despite being before noon, sleep was catching up to him and he was far too tired to care.

 

* * *

 

Up in his office Haber’s finger paused over the phone dial.He’d lost track of his thoughts. He’d been planning on calling about… something he had forgotten.

He’d forgotten something else.Something important.  

Unbidden in his head came the picture of a tourist prodding a lion with a stick through the bars of its cage, forgetting for a moment that barriers could be broken and man was not, in fact, at the top of the food chain.

And as quickly as the thought appeared in his head, it faded.  

No other thoughts followed.

 

* * *

 

Orr woke on the bed in his Corbett Apartment on the other side of the West Hills from Haber’s huge mansion.He felt mentally exhausted, but nothing hurt and the only stickiness he felt was kind felt after too long a nap at the wrong time of day.

Haber was dead.Had died two days ago, while Orr’d been hiding up in his cabin.He’d been informed this morning by an awkward and apologetic HEW caseworker.He’d be given another therapist in the next couple of days. The caseworker left him a number he could call for emergencies, in case the stress of losing his psychiatrist became overwhelming.

It wasn’t a surprise.Orr had known that if he slept, Haber would die and he’d slept anyway.It was on him.Far from feeling guilty, the way he had with his aunt, Orr merely felt sad and empty.

The world had changed again.There was no more indentured servitude, and no more Aliens. The Crash had still happened, but it had only taken out 2 billion, not 6, and it had been caused by a stubborn retrovirus rather than pollution. Helped by the drop in population, the world had made some modest attempts at curbing pollution even without the cudgel of cancer, but it was a mixed result. Gas powered cars were back on the street.

There was a war in the mid-east, but it didn’t involve the U.S. which had for some reason lost a lot of its international standing.Which meant that Heather’s first husband was probably still alive.

Orr sighed.

So it was for now. Without Haber, the dreams would still come, every once in a while. Orr had to own that, just the way he had to own the fact that he’d killed Haber.

It could be worse.That was the lesson that Orr had gotten out of the whole thing.He’d seen worse, several times now.Better was good enough.

 

* * *

 

Across town, Heather Lelache sent a nasty reply email off to her ex who was still convinced she might have held on to stuff even three years after their divorce.As if she’d keep any of that shit around cluttering up her home.The last of his stuff had been purged to Good Will a month after he’d walked out to go live with his girlfriend.

Sometimes she had dreams about him dying in a war, and felt a little ashamed about it.She didn’t want him dead, but she wished he’d get the hint and move on already. She made a reminder to herself never to date another type-A control freak douchebag again, no matter how good he looked in a swim suit.

Which brought her mind back to Orr, who she’d never seen in anything less modest wear.She felt terrible about him. He’d come in a couple of weeks ago saying something hinky was up with therapist and the best she’d been able to come up with was to wrangle an invite on his session in order to watch the experimental machinery his shrink was using. 

There turned out to absolutely nothing hinky about the Augmentor, and there was nothing too odd about the dream therapy itself (though she’d had a few odd nightmares about the Crash afterwards.Perhaps subconsciously she’d realized that she hadn’t helped Orr.) So she’d let Orr down as gently as she could, even though she’d felt guilty as hell about it.

She’d gone up the cabin to check up on him, since he’d run away from his therapist, but had left after a few very nice hours and getting him to promised to return to be treated.She’d even felt a bit smug about having helped the poor deluded blighter.

And then, surprise, surprise, turned out something hinky was up.And how.In addition to being a visionary psychologist and an all around great man, it turned out Haber was a grade A perv.

Dr. Haber’s body had been found in his absurdly large house by a maid — official cause of death: autoerotic asphyxiation.He’d hung himself on some kind of giant homemade bondage contraption in his basement. A lever slipped and he hadn’t been able to free himself.

But titillating as that was, that wasn’t worst of it.The real embarrassment was the wall of photographs Haber had been using as spank material.Crazy was one word.“Obsessive as fuck” had been another HEW insider’s opinion. Heather had to take their word since she’d never seen them, but by all reports the pictures had been of Orr.He was hooked up to that Augmenter contraption that forced him to sleep, then posed suggestively in states of undress.Various phallic shaped office supplies had apparently been used for something other than their work acceptable purpose.The insider had laughed uncomfortably at that.Lelache hadn’t.

Orr must have known subconsciously that Haber was abusing him, even if he hadn’t consciously remembered it.Naturally, Haber hadn’t molested him while Lelache was there.And she had told Orr there was nothing to be done and left him in the hands of that creep.  

Well, shit.

She’d better apologize and hopefully he wouldn’t include her firm in the inevitable lawsuit.

Orr picked up on the third ring. “Hello?” he’d answered in a soft, almost lost tone.

“Mr. Orr,” she began, “I’ve just heard about what happened.I’m so very sorry.I should have—“

“Heather?” Orr interrupted. If she wasn’t mistaken he sounded happy.No not just happy, deliriously so.Like he’d been afraid she’d died or something.

“Yes, it’s me.”

“Oh thank god, I was afraid something had happened to you.”

Christ, the poor guy.What shit had Haber had been filling his head with all these weeks?It would take HEW months to sort it all out.

“I’m fine, George,” she said.“I heard about Haber and I don’t know what to say.It’s awful.I feel so responsible for telling you to go back to that monster.”

“It’s okay,” said Orr.“It’s not your fault at all. Really.It’s mine.I made him a monster.Or maybe he was all the time and I just needed to bring it out in the open to see it.At first I thought maybe was trying to appease him in some way, so he would care enough to listen to me, but now I think maybe I was just giving him enough rope to hang himself.He could have said no, but he didn’t, so …he’s dead.”

Lelache frowned, wondering for a second if Orr were confessing to murdering Haber.But that was nonsense.He’d been with her up at the cabin over a hundred miles away when Haber had died.No, Orr was just sick, and who wouldn’t be after being gaslighted for weeks by a perverted psychologist who used hypnosis and forced sleep to get away with his crimes.

“Don’t blame yourself,” she said.“You had nothing to do with his death.He was inappropriately obsessed with you and you tried to do the logical thing and get away from him.You did everything right.His death was entirely on him.You did not make him the way he was.”

But Orr clicked his tongue.“I … yes, you are right.I didn’t make him the way he was.But maybe if I’d acted earlier, I could have saved him.Somehow.I don’t know.”

“What ifs are pointless. We can’t rewrite the past. Hindsight is 20/20 — except, honestly George, I have no idea what you think you could have done differently even if you had known.That bastard had you legally over a barrel.”Lelache winced, as the metaphor sounded too uncomfortably sexual for the circumstances.

He was silent for so long that Lelache wondered if the phone had cut off, but then, just as she was about to ask, he spoke again.

“I knew I had to stop him, but I just couldn’t bring myself to do it. I had too many doubts. I wanted to believe that he was a good man, that my feelings about him were wrong.But my dreams aren’t supposed to used the way he was using them.So… so the dream made it so I couldn’t ignore the problem anymore.That I’d have to deal with it.And I did.Haber pushed and sometimes … sometimes the universe pushes back.And I was just in the middle.”

Lelache couldn’t parse Orr’s logic, but she recognized the emotion behind it.Grief, sadness, acceptance.And under the circumstances that was healthier than could be expected.“Haber is fully responsible for everything he did to you.Don’t blame yourself for that.”

“I don’t blame myself,” said Orr. “But still, I wish he’d never met me.If I just hadn’t tempted him, he’d still be here.”

“George, you were almost a hundred and fifty miles away.You aren’t responsible for the fact Dr. Haber engaged in unsafe sexual practices.If you had never met him, he’d still have accidentally hanged himself in his basement.”

Orr laughed a bitter laugh.“You wouldn’t think.But I’m glad you are here.Are you married?” he asked, abruptly.

“Not for 3 years,” said Lelache, surprised.

“Good. I’d like to meet and talk.Face to face.If you are willing.I could use a friend right now.”

It was unprofessional, but…. Lelache remembered the hours they’d spent together in the woods.There had been something there.Something right.  

“Would you like to meet for coffee — I seem to remember we were going to do that.Weren’t we?” 

 As soon as she said it, Heather wasn’t so sure it was true.For a moment other memories crowded her mind, disjointed, conflicting and impossible.She remembered looking down at Orr and watching him sleep and she remembered a building made out of converted garage, and there were Aliens on the moon, and dreams that changed the course of history from the Paleocene on.

She shook the thoughts out of her head.

“Yes, we were,” said Orr.“And yes, I’dlike that very much.”

 


End file.
